


Spa Night

by DannyisDone



Series: Sanders Sides Agere Oneshots [8]
Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Age Play Caregiver Deceit | Janus Sanders, Age Play Little Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders, Age Regression, Age Regression/De-Aging, Bathing/Washing, Domestic Fluff, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Gen, Hair Washing, Hurt/Comfort, Non-Sexual Age Play, Nudity, Spa Treatments, Sympathetic Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders, Sympathetic Deceit | Janus Sanders, but ya know, it's not described or anything, literally just 5000+ words of remus getting a relaxing bath okay
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-28
Updated: 2021-01-28
Packaged: 2021-03-14 14:27:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,875
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29047644
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DannyisDone/pseuds/DannyisDone
Summary: This story contains Age Regression and is NOT sexualRemus and Janus are once more ignored by the Light sides, which leaves Janus frustrated and Remus feeling small. Janus's solution is a relaxing spa night for Remus and an opportunity for them to spend time together.+++Warnings: Nudity (Because baths, but I don't describe anything), if others are needed please let me know!
Relationships: Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders & Deceit | Janus Sanders
Series: Sanders Sides Agere Oneshots [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2145819
Comments: 5
Kudos: 72





	Spa Night

**Author's Note:**

> i don't know why i wrote this sdfghjk I hope some people like it though!! It's really very soft and mostly was just me writing comfort. And then i went 'oh! there's a plot in here somewhere' and had to cut certain scenes because it wouldn't have worked with the very tiny plot that is in this. 
> 
> anyways, enjoy! <3

A deep ache settled into Janus the moment he rose back up into the Dark Sides’ living room. The day had been another exhausting attempt at trying to get anyone to work with him. He’d even resorted to trying to compromise, which he detested, as if his solutions didn’t have merit on their own, no. He had to tack on things that would appease their ‘superior’ sensibilities. But even stooping down to those levels had gotten him nowhere! He’d spent hours playing their little game, and had nothing to show for it. 

He sighed, his body giving him only a second of notice before he collapsed into the couch, he was such a sore loser, quite literally. 

Worst of all, Remus had been given a similar treatment, though the Lights were more prone to ignoring him rather than the stonewalling they reserved for Janus. Whenever he piped up with a suggestion or quippy remark, it was often met with awkward silence or straight refusal to acknowledge. Even Janus found himself succumbing to those bouts of silence, not because he didn’t care about what the Duke had to say, but because it wouldn’t have mattered. Anything Janus had to say was poisoned by virtue of just coming from him. 

Another sigh. Where was Creativity anyways? 

They had sunk out together, and Janus had assumed they would come back to lick each other’s wounds (Which was a metaphor, he would have to remind Remus). But the other must have gone to his room, or maybe even the imagination to let off some steam. While Janus was more into relaxing forms of self care, Remus’s go to when frustrated was terrorizing stone statues and mannequins. And if that didn’t work, or if the frustration laid a little too heavily on his feelings…

A third and final sigh. Perhaps he should check on Remus. 

Janus rose from the couch, stretching to try and get some motivation into his uncooperative limbs. He started towards the hallway that led to the back of the house where the bedrooms were. He stepped over traps and junk that Remus left out in the open, skilled in avoiding them nowadays. He made it to Remus’s green door that was covered in any and all things that the Duke loved, from newspaper clippings about murderers within a 100 mile radius, to simple things like a picture of him and Janus that the yellow side had demanded he delete, but over the years he’d grown fond of. He knocked on the door three times, then twice, then twice again, their secret knock. Not that anyone had ever travelled down here to warrant a secret knock anyways, but habits of love died hard. 

When no response came, Janus’s decided to just open the door and check on the other. He had full permission to come into Remus’s room whenever he wanted, and Remus had that same permission, unless either one began to use that for nefarious reasons (That stipulation was added on specifically because of Remus). The room was dark, and Janus’s suspicions about what the day had led to for his dear friends was becoming more and more true. He could hear a soft crying coming from the bed, that Janus recognized. Janus clicked his tongue lightly, so that he didn’t overly scare the other. 

“Today was a hard day, wasn’t it sweetheart?” Janus asked, flipping the light on. With the room illuminated, Janus could see the remnants of what probably started out as Remus trying to fight off his regression. There was a knocked over mannequin, a torn pillow, a target with a knife skewered through it. Remus regression was completely involuntary, and more than not accompanied by feelings of fear and frustration, sometimes even envy. It usually meant that his time spent regressed was focused on comfort and easement, but he still fought against it. After all, it’s hard feeling so young but having to deal with adult anguish. Janus stepped further into the room, noting that Remus hadn’t pulled himself from out of the covers. 

“Cephy?” Janus tried again, trying to get the other to come out of his cocoon. He heard a wet sniffle as he got closer to the bed. He sat down on the edge, turning his body towards the lump and placing a gentle hand where he assumed Remus’s shoulder was. 

“Why don’ they like me?” Remus asked without looking towards Janus. The yellow side was grateful for that small blessing, because he wouldn’t want Remus to see how clueless he was to answer that. There was no good answer, there was no ‘I’m sure they do’ or ‘They will with time’. Time and time again the Light’s proved they would only ever be tolerant or Janus and Remus’s presence. Janus closed his eyes, trying to figure out how to approach this with the little, but another small blessing occurred before he could decide between a pretty lie or an ugly truth. Remus rolled over, his face a disgusting mess of tears, sweat, and snot. Instead of trying to comfort the other with empty words, a new thought occurred to him. Something that could maybe bring some fun while Remus was regressed, and get their minds away from the miserable day they had had. 

“Would you like to have a spa night with me, Remus? I was planning on doing some well needed self care, and it looks like you could use some as well.” Janus mused, letting one of his hands brush the sweaty bangs off of Remus’s forehead. The little seemed to ponder over the suggestion, perhaps a tad annoyed that his question was being ignored, but the offer had to be tempting.

“Do I gotta be big?” He asked, and Janus was quick to shake his head now, a gentle smile formed on his face to try and ease any and all holdouts Remus might come up with. 

“No, not unless you want to. It can be a baby Rem and Jan night if you want.” Remus sat up a bit, but a smile was now on his face, and Janus was suddenly really glad he had made this suggestion, even if it meant less self care for him and more just taking care of Remus, he didn’t care. Because it was obviously going to make his friend and little feel happy. 

“I’m not a baby, I’m a big boy!” Remus declared. “Can I still come if I’m a big boy?” He asked, grabbing at Janus’s sleeve, as if he planned to keep him hostage here until Janus said yes. The action and words made the snake side chuckled, not bothering to reclaim his arm.

“Yes, all forms of Remus are accepted into the spa, I promise.” Remus seemed to like that promise. He sat up all the way, fisting the remaining tears off his face.

“Why don’t you pick out your nicest pair of pajamas and bring it to the master bath, okay?” Janus said, standing up from the bed, ignoring the protesting jolt of pain that darted from his knees up to his spine. “I’ll go grab some towels and meet you in there, alright?” He said, ruffling Remus’s hair. The regressor nodded heavily before moving to get out of the bed, jumping lightly on his feet as he moved. 

“Spa night! Spa night! Spa night! Remus cheered as Janus made his way out of the other’s room, shaking his head and laughing lightly at the other’s antics. He hadn’t expected Remus to take so well to a suggestion that involved getting clean, but perhaps his determination of being as nasty as possible at all times was one that did not carry over into his littlespace. He just hoped that this would be a relaxing experience, for the both of them. He could picture this becoming a disaster, but any scenario that involved the Duke could become a disaster, so Janus paid the thought no mind. He just had to make sure he was listening to the other’s wants and desires, not be too offended if he didn’t want to follow Janus’s own list for self care spa nights, and take the time to explain what he was doing so Remus could follow along and opt out if there was something he didn’t want to do. 

Once in his room, Janus began to gather all the things he would normally grab for when he did spa nights. Washes, lotions, creams, and oils that he had reserved for special occasions. Well, bad days were special occasions in his book, and the two had certainly had a miserable one. Once he had everything he thought he might need, he put them into his Spa night box. He also went to grab some candles, but thought better of it. Remus was already an unbalanced mess of long limbs, and his balance and self control was even worse when regressed, so he decided to skip out on creating an atmosphere for now. 

He the moved to his closet to pick out his big special towels, also reserved for special self care days. Satisfied that he had everything, he carried his items out of his bedroom and walked to the master bathroom. They both had small bathrooms in their rooms, thank Thomas for small miracles. But the one in the hallway was nice and big, and guaranteed that he could move around it easily even with Remus in there with him. 

When he arrived at the bathroom, Remus was sitting on the floor, pulling out some of his bath toys from under the sink. Remus rarely took baths while regressed, but had asked that they be stored in here just in case. Janus decided a few minutes of playtime would be fine. After all, this was about Remus’s self care too. And if Remus wanted to play a little bit, then he absolutely should be allowed. 

“Can I have an ice bath, Jane?” Remus asked, looking up from his barbies and ships. Janus frowned. So apparently there was one thing that he couldn’t provide…

“I can’t give you an ice bath, darling. I’m cold blooded, remember?” Remus loved ice baths, even when he was Big. He claimed it was like bathing in the ocean, and it felt nicer on his tentacles than warm water did. Janus had tried giving Remus an ice bath once, but had felt so frozen and lethargic afterwards it took almost three days of warming up before he felt functional again. Remus, upon hearing his literal first request denied, seemed to shrink in on himself. 

“Oh, right. Sorry.” He said, and boy did that make Janus feel guilty about his cursed body. Still, the night would be fun, he reminded himself. He set his items next to Remus’s on the sink, noting that he had picked out his pajama set reserved for when he’s little. It was a green dragon onesie that was not long enough in the legs or arms at all, but Remus loved. It was hard finding things that fit him, considering he was so tall and lanky, but Remus liked making his own clothes anyways. 

“I promise this will still be just as lovely, okay baby?” Janus said, walking over towards the tub and turning on the tap. Remus hummed, scooting his body closer to the bathtub so he could watch it fill. 

“‘Kay, but I’m not a baby.” He reminded the other, to which Janus merely smiled and nodded. He moved his hand under the water to see if it was a temperature he could tolerate working in, before encouraging Remus to do the same. 

“Make sure you like the temperature, then you can pick out a bath bomb and some essential oils if you like.” Janus didn’t really believe that essential oils did anything other than add a nice scent to the experience, but he did a lot of silly things that didn’t really do anything besides add to the aesthetic of Spa Night, so it wasn’t something he was going to stop doing. Remus reached his hand into the water, feeling around, before nodding his approval. Janus nodded back and smiled. 

“Alright, I don’t have a ton of bath bombs to choose from, but pick out whichever one you’d like best.” Janus said as he dug through his box, pulling out the four options he had. Remus looked them over, not considering anything other than ‘What colors do I like?’ which frankly, that’s all Janus considered when picking them out as well. The little pointed to a dark blue one with a purple ring around it, then looked up at Janus to confirm his choice was okay. The other smiled. 

“Excellent choice,” Janus said, before handing the bath bomb to Remus. “Go ahead and drop it in.” The green side beamed when he was handed the bomb, and as Janus moved to return the remaining ones to the box, Remus dropped his into the bath and watched as it began to immediately fizz and spin, sending spirals of blue and purple out from it. 

“Jan Jan Jan! look how pretty it is!” Remus said, adjusting to sit on his knees so he could watch the bomb move around. Janus chuckled as he pulled out some of his collection of essential oils. 

“It’s very pretty, what do you want your bath to smell like?” He asked, offering the different scents, but Remus was much more invested in watching the ball bob around in the water, even reaching in to push it around a bit and giggling when he pushed under the water and it popped back up. Janus couldn’t help but stare in amusement, wishing he’d done something like this the thousand other times he walked in on a crying regressed Remus. Maybe distractions were just as effective as doting and comfort. 

“Hm, how about lavender, I think that would go nice with the color.” Janus mused aloud, waiting to see if Remus would speak up and demand to let the choice be his, but Remus didn’t seem to care, instead tracing his hands through the dark blue water with growing excitement. Perhaps Remus didn’t want to make many decisions tonight, more willing to be guided rather than an active participant. Janus understood the desire, and was more than willing to oblige. He would only give Remus simple decisions from now on. 

He dropped some of the sweet smelling oil into the water, before capping it up and putting it back in the box. Janus had other things he could put in the bath, like eco-friendly glitter and salts, but best to keep things simple for the night. He stopped the water when the tub was plenty full, before turning his attention back to Remus, who was still watching the ever shrinking bomb. 

“You ready to get in, Cephy?” Janus asked. Remus nodded and stood up, beginning to try and pull off his complicated costume. He adored the self made outfit when Big, but little Remus loathed the complicated piece. He made a couple of attempts to pull his shirt off, before grumpily whining and looking to Janus, his eyes asking for help. 

“Would you like some assistance?” Janus asked, not even waiting for the other to respond before he walked over and helped guide the shirt off of him, making sure to undo all the little inconvenient buttons that Remus put in for no purpose other than chaos. Once the shirt was off and tossed aside, Janus began to attempt to help Remus with his pants, but his hands were suddenly being pushed away. 

“I gots it! I’m big boy.” He reminded Janus, and the man simply held his hands up, showing that he wouldn’t do anything that Remus didn’t want. 

“Alright, when you’re undressed go ahead and get in. And don’t summon your tentacles, I doubt they would like all of the soap in the water.” Janus reminded him. Remus nodded, pulling off his pants and boxers before lowering himself into the warm water, He squeaked a bit as he sunk in, unprepared for how warm it would be, but quickly found the temperature relaxing for his tense muscles that he hadn’t even realized were tensed. He settled deeply into the tub, watching as the last bits of the bath bomb began to sizzle away. 

“You can play for a few minutes while I get everything ready for your royal treatment, okay?” Janus said, having gathered up the barbies and boats that had been left on the floor while Remus finished undressing. He carefully dropped them into the water, hoping to keep as much liquid inside the tub as possible, though with Remus it was never a guarantee. The little cheered and began playing with his toys. Janus began pulling the things out he wanted to use on Remus from his box, taking note of things he knew the other liked and disliked, and setting them beside the bath. Janus, true to his word, let Remus play for a few minutes, smiling as he tuned into the story that Remus was spinning. Apparently, barbie and her girlfriend were escaping the law by moving into an underwater city, but they had to outrun the boat police, quite a tale. 

“Are you ready to start, little one?” Janus asked, running his fingers through the deep water. Remus looked between his toys, and Janus, clearly a part of him wanting to argue for more play time. But he also really wanted to start the spa stuff too. He looked back down at his toys. 

“Can they stay in the water with me? I won’ play with them, promise!” He explained. Janus considered this compromise, and took note how compromising with Remus never felt like a losing game like it did with the Lights. It always felt like they were both getting what they wanted. A smile tugged on his face. 

“That seems quite alright.” Janus said, and watched as Remus squealed with delight. He quickly pushed the boats a bit of ways away, content to watch them float around, while he set the barbies to sit on the edge of the tub. 

“They’re gonna be the judges,” Remus declared, and to what they were judging, Janus had no idea. But now he was determined to get a good score all around, no matter what.

“First things first, we have to wash up. Now, do you want me to do it, or would you like to?” Janus asked. This was an important decision that he would insist Remus makes if he started to get distracted. Remus thought a moment, before holding his hand out. 

“I’m a big boy, Jan. I can wash myself!” He declared. Janus nodded, trying to keep the amused smirk off his face as he rummaged through his soaps. He wasn't sure why Remus was so insistent that he was a big boy today, and perhaps he should try to get to the bottom of it, but it was kind of entertaining to watch, and Janus wasn’t about to question Remus’s autonomy. If he needed to insist he could do things, then Janus would let him. 

“Alright Big Boy, scrub up good.” Janus summoned a washcloth and dipped it into the water, before pouring on the body wash. Janus had selected another lavender scent, since he was concerned that mixing too many scents would overwhelm his senses. He handed the cloth to Remus, who quickly got to work cleaning himself. 

“Can people actually be squeaky clean, Jan? Like, do they squeak?” Remus asked as he washed. Janus busied himself by looking through his Spa box, deciding what he would use next on Remus. 

“I don’t quite know, we’ll have to test it when you’re clean.” Janus mused as he pulled out some more items. He looked over his sugar scrubs, wondering if Remus would want something like that. 

“Do ya think there’s actually alligators in sewers?” Remus asked, splashing a little in the water. Janus peered over at him and noticed that he was finished scrubbing. Janus offered a small smile as he moved back towards the tub, lightly tapping Remus’s nose, earning a soft giggle. 

“You’re mighty inquisitive today. Yes I do believe there are alligators in sewers, but only because we live in Florida. I doubt you’d find any in Indiana, for instance.” He explained, willing to entertain Remus’s questions. Particularly because he’d been silenced so much that day, he deserved to talk about whatever his little heart desired. 

“Maybe ya haven’t looked hard enough then.” Remus responded reaching up and grabbing the finger that had tapped him. Janus cooed lightly, scritching his finger at Remus in a playful threat. 

“My my, the little cephalopod’s got me, whatever am I to do?” He playfully inquired, making Remus grin and giggle more, before he finally let go. 

“Ready for the next step?” Janus asked, before reaching over towards the sink, picking up his sugar scrub that he had made just a few days ago, having anticipated the need for a self care day in the near future. He opened the jar and held it out for Remus to smell. “It’s a sugar scrub. It helps to exfoliate.” He explained. Remus took a sniff of the scrub, and smiled. 

“Smells yummy.” He said, wiggling a bit in the water at the implication. A playful smirk pulled on Janus’s face. 

“Wanna taste?” He offered, and watched as Remus’s eyes grew wide, a mix of concern and excitement enveloping his face. 

“But I’m not allowed to eats soaps!” He explained, which was true. Regressed Remus wasn’t allowed to ingest anything that wasn’t edible for humans, even if they didn’t really have any impact on the figments' health, sometimes a stomach ache, but that was about it. So the idea that Remus would be allowed to eat something used for washing while little, well it was a special little treat. Though, Janus knew that the sugar scrub was completely edible. He’d made it with all natural ingredients and there wasn’t anything in it that couldn’t be digested, but Remus didn’t need to know that. 

“You’re right, I suppose I should rescind my offer.” Janus said with a fake sigh, bringing the jar back towards him, but stopped when Remus let out a soft whine. 

“No no no! I wanna eat the es-foliage!” Remus said, lightly splashing his hands in the water out of defiance. Janus merely chuckled before moving the jar back towards Remus.

“Exfoliate.”

“That’s what I said!”

“Right, here. You can have a little bit, okay?” Janus said, reaching a finger in and pulling a little bit out as an example. Remus nodded and mirrored Janus’s actions, dipping his finger and pulling some out, before he stuck the finger in his mouth to taste. 

“It’s real grainy.” Remus said, which was probably a high compliment in his catalog of praises. Janus couldn’t hide his laughter.

“You put it on your legs and arms to exfoliate the skin, helps get rid of dead skin cells and such.” He explained, watching as Remus nodded along, and Janus could tell that he was retaining none of the facts about the scrub. Still, he looked excited to try it, and that was enough to encourage Janus to keep going. 

“Now, would you like me to put it on you, or do you wanna do it yourself?” Remus seemed to think over the question, and he was a bit more hesitant to give his answer this time. But then, a flash of determination came over Remus, and he shook his head at a question that seemed to only be in his mind. 

“I can do it, I’m big!” Remus said, perhaps more so to remind himself than anything. Janus nodded, still concerned that he apparently felt the need to reinforce his bigness this evening. He had seemed uneager to regress, if the mess in his room had been any indication, and he hadn’t immediately gone to Janus for comfort and cuddles. Maybe he just didn’t want to feel small, after all, their engagement with the Lights earlier had left them both feeling rather belittled. 

“Okay, but you don’t need a whole lot, so just use small dollops and go back for more if you need it.” Janus explained, before placing the jar on the edge of the tub for Remus to have access to it. Remus would end up using more than Janus normally would, since his limbs were longer, but that didn’t mean he would need much to get the job done. Remus nodded along to what Janus said, before he carefully dipped his fingers into the scrub, and began rubbing it on his arms. 

“This feels weird!” Remus said, and Janus could not tell if that was meant to be a good or bad thing.

“You don’t have to use it if you don’t want to.” He reminded the other, but Remus merely shook his head. 

“No! I like it, feels like sand!” He exclaimed, and there was just no argument against that kind of logic. Janus watched as Remus moved from limb to limb, rubbing the exfoliate onto his skin.

“Done!” Remus declared when he was finished. Janus chuckled and nodded, before picking up the discarded washcloth from earlier, ringing it out, then began wiping off the remaining sugar scrub on his arms and legs. 

“Are you enjoying the spa so far, cephy?” Janus asked, and watched as Remus nodded, though he was suddenly quite bashful as Janus wiped his arms. Janus smirked and gently pinched his arm, earning him the desired squeak he was hoping for. 

“My my, I guess you can be squeaky clean.” Janus teased. Remus was positively tickled at the interaction, and began a short giggling fit that Janus found himself being swept into as he helped to clean off Remus's legs as well. The laughter filled the room, and it was quite domestic. When Janus was finished, he placed the washcloth back in the tub. 

“Let’s wash your hair next, go ahead and get it wet.” Janus said, and Remus complied without hesitation. He made a big show of taking a large gulp of air, before submerging himself under the water. Janus merely shook his head with a smile on his face. Remus resurfaced quickly, running a hand through his wet hair. 

“Are you gonna wash it, Jan?” Remus asked, and Janus cocked an eyebrow at that. Remus had been so insistent the whole night to do things on his own, now it seemed the little wanted Janus to do it for him, if his bashful look was any indicator. Still, he hadn’t really asked Janus to do it, so maybe Janus was merely looking too far into it. 

“I was planning to, love. If you don’t want me to, just let me know, okay?” Janus said, and Remus nodded, seeming relieved at the response as he sunk a little into the water. It was growing less and less warm, so they would have to finish this part of the Spa Treatment soon. 

Janus picked a sweet smelling shampoo, offering the bottle for Remus to sniff. Remus did so, and nodded his approval. “I’m gonna smell like flowers, but not like the big smelly one, what’s that one called?” Remus asked, looking towards Janus with expectant eyes. 

“Dear, I have literally no clue what you are talking about. But we can look it up later.” Janus said as he walked over to stand behind Remus to get good access to his hair. He slowly began massaging the shampoo into the little’s hair, taking extra care to be gentle, because he knew Remus had a sensitive scalp (Or maybe he just liked to complain). Remus seemed content as Janus washed his scalp, pushing his little boats around the water whenever they floated close to him. Janus was surprised that Remus wasn’t popping off with more questions or statements, merely allowing the silence to settle over them like a comfortable blanket. 

Once Janus was finished, he gave Remus’s one final massage before he removed his hands and patted his head. “Go ahead and rinse that out. When’s the last time you conditioned your hair?” He asked. Remus tilted his head back to look up at Janus, a small sheepish smile on his face. 

“I dun ‘member.” He said. Janus had to resist the urge to roll his eyes. Instead he helped to guide Remus’s head back into the water, and helped to rinse the suds out. Remus allowed the action, closing his eyes as Janus ran his fingers through his hair under the water. 

“Hm, I think someone’s really enjoying their spa night. Would you like me to condition your hair as well?” Janus asked, and waited to see how Remus would respond. The little shrugged, but opened his eyes to look back up at Janus, and they were enough of an answer that Janus needed. Despite being unable to ask for it, his friend could read him like a book. He gave Remus a fond smile. 

“Your experience wouldn’t be complete without it. It must be done.” Janus said, and could see Remus physically relax now that the decision had been made for him. So once all of the shampoo was out of Remus’s hair, Janus repeated the process with his conditioner. He wasn’t surprised as he watched Remus close his eyes, melting into Janus’s touches. Poor boy, Janus thought. After the day he had had, he deserved to be pampered. 

Silence fell over them again, and this time Janus decided to fill it with soft humming. He ran his finger through Remus’s hair, scrubbing for a bit longer than was necessary only because he could tell it relaxed the other so. However, the water was beginning to become room temperature, and Janus was sure the Duke would be ready to get out soon. Janus lowered his head back into the water, and helped to wash the conditioner out. All the while, Remus kept his eyes closed, wearing just the faintest hint of a smile. Once he was finished, Janus guided him back up. 

“Alright baby, all done. Let’s get you all dry.” Janus helped Remus to stand up, holding onto his hands tightly, making sure he stayed upright. Once out of the tub, Janus began to help dry Remus off, once more noting that he seemed much more content about being helped than he had been at the start of this. When he was dried, Janus helped him step into his boxers, then placed a gentle kiss to his forehead. 

“There’s one more step to Spa night. Would you like to put on some lotion?” He asked, guiding Remus over to the toilet so he could sit on it. He left Remus to think over his answers as he walked back over to the tub, opening the drain and picking up all the toys to put back under the sink. Once that was taken care of, he picked a lotion from the Spa box, choosing one that didn’t smell overly strong. When he turned his attention back to Remus, the little looked quite bashful, wringing his hands together and avoiding looking at Janus directly. The yellow side walked over and lovingly ran his fingers through the other’s wet hair, encouraging him to answer.

“You do it?” Remus asked, and if that didn’t warm Janus’s heart completely. Remus, who had been fighting to do things all on his own all evening, was now asking for Janus’s help. The caregiver smiled fondly, moving his hand from Remus’s hair and down to his cheek. 

“I can do it, sweetheart.” He said, and watched as Remus leaned into the touch, his eyes closing. He looked close to falling asleep, perhaps finally feeling relaxed. Janus was so glad he had invited Remus to do this. It seemed to do the little well, being taken care of so. Janus tapped Remus’s cheek once, letting him know he was about to start the process. He put some of the lotion into his hands, before he slowly began massaging the lotion into Remus’s arms and legs. He made sure he was gentle, never wanting to make Remus uncomfortable.

“There, all nice and soft.” Janus said once he was finished, standing to his full height. Remus looked so sleep at this point. Janus cooed, pacing a hand on Remus’s shoulder and rubbing it soothingly. 

“Let’s get you into your pajamas, then you can go to sleep. Doesn’t that sound lovely, baby?” Janus asked, and watched as Remus nodded. 

“I’m baby.” Remus remarked, a tender smile on his face. Janus chuckled at the statement, and felt a bit proud of the other. He’d been fighting it all night, but Remus had probably wanted to be extra small from the moment they sunk out. But he had admitted to Janus once that he was always afraid of allowing himself to regress really young, always feeling like a burden. And though Janus had always assured him verbally that he would never mind Remus regressing younger if that’s what he needed. And perhaps tonight had finally managed to prove that to him. 

“Yes, you’re my little baby.” Janus said, lightly tickling Remus underneath his chin, earning him light giggles that were so far away from the cackling that he was known for, but were still so undeniably Remus. Janus then reached over and grabbed Remus’s dragon onesie, holding it out for him to step into. Remus did so, though he seemed a bit unwilling to stand. Once the pajamas were zipped up, Janus held out his hand. 

“It’s bedtime for all little cephalopods, now.” Janus said, and was surprised when Remus didn’t fight against it. But maybe he shouldn’t have been all that shocked, considering how content his friend looked. Remus nodded along, and allowed himself to be led out of the bathroom and back towards his own bedroom. 

Once in, Remus crawled into his bed, and Janus couldn’t help but recall how just a little while ago, Remus had been crying and sniffling in this room. Now he was smiling, trying to stifle a sleepy yawn that overcame him. It really was magical what a bit of being taken care of could do. Janus summoned a fresh pillow for Remus, not wanting him to use the one he had unceremoniously covered in snot earlier. He then tucked the little into bed. 

“Where’s your octopus, dear? It’s their bedtime too,” Janus remarked. Remus pointed to the dresser, which is where his stuffie and other little things resided when they weren’t in use. Janus walked over to the dresser, retrieving the toy and one of Remus’s pacifiers, in case he wanted it. Janus then walked back over, sitting on the edge of the bed. 

“Here we are.” He said, tucking the toy in next to Remus. Remus hugged the stuffie close to his chest, then watched as Janus held the pacifier out to him. The little nodded and carefully took it in his mouth, sucking on it contently, before laying back down completely. 

“Goodnight, Remus. Sweet dreams.” Janus whispered, and watched as Remus closed his eyes and nodded. Janus smiled and bent forward, placing a soft kiss into his hair.


End file.
